Your genes play an important role in determining how well your skin can naturally cope under the strains of the sun.

Causing premature skin aging and a host of other profound changes to the skin1, repeated exposure to ultraviolet light (UV radiation) from the sun accounts for nearly 90% of symptoms of early skin aging, skin damage and skin cancer.

Every time the skin is exposed to UV light, some damage occurs and the cumulative effect of that repeated damage is epidermal DNA damage, persistent inflammation and oxidative stress.3,4 Oftentimes the harmful effects of the sun are a greater contributor to skin aging than all other factors combined, including the intrinsic aging of skin cells.

Symptoms of sun damage include: texture changes (coarse wrinkling and yellow discoloration), blood vessel changes (broken capillaries and Telangiectasias), pigment changes (age spots, brown spots, freckling), skin bumps (Kerasotes) and skin cancer.1

Consistently preventing damage to skin caused by the sun's UV rays should be the single most important aspect of your skin care strategy. Proper UV protection may not only help prevent Photoaging and further damage to the skin2,4 but can also facilitate the reversal of some existing signs of aging.

Your genes play an important role in determining how well your skin can naturally cope under the strains of the sun. The SkinDNA™ Test can reveal if your skin has a greater or lesser natural genetic solar protection factor (gSPF™), and based on your results can provide you with a unique, enhanced skin care protection strategy that is specially designed to provide the utmost protection for your skin based on your genes.

UV light is a form of radiation that is found in sunlight. Most people are aware of the effects of overexposure to UV radiation through the painful condition of Erythema (Sunburn). There are 2 main forms of UV radiation that impact our skin, UVA rays and UVB rays.

UVA rays: (known as the ‘aging’ rays) are a form of radiation that has very little immediate visible effects. The effects of UVA rays often do not become apparent until years down the track often after the damage has already been done. Its spectrum is strong enough to bypass the top layers of skin and damage the deeper layers know as the dermis. It is predominantly these rays that cause skin to prematurely age.

UVA rays mostly come through when the sun is at an angle generally between 8am – 10am and 2pm – 6pm. These rays become magnified when cloudy or overcast and when reflecting through glass such as when driving or near windows.

UVB rays: (known as the ‘burning’ rays) are a form of radiation that has a great deal of immediate visible effect. Unlike UVA rays its spectrum isn’t strong enough to travel into the deeper layers of skin therefore most of the damage is done on the superficial layers taking the form of sunburns, pealing, swelling, pigmentation and browning of the skin.

UVB rays are most predominant when the sun is directly shining down between 10am -2pm.

Did you know? 2 in 5 people have a genetic variation that affects their skin's UV defences.

8-oxoG radical is considered to be one of the worst types of free radical species. This radical is generated by exposure to ionizing radiations such as UV light – the most commonly sourced. 8-oxo-G radicals can cause harmful mutations within the DNA structure6 and can ultimately affect the functioning of crucial genes that play vital roles in collagen synthesis, protection and other central duties.

Pigment (color) found in the skin. Melanin is essential in protecting the skin from the sun. The release of melanin helps absorb and breakdown the sun’s harmful UV rays and UV-generated free radicals.5 The reason some people are darker than others is because of the amount of melanin their body naturally produces. The more efficient the body is at producing melanin the more your skin is able to withstand (to a degree) the suns UV rays. Pigmentation has been widely viewed as a photoprotectant and research has shown that darkly pigmented skin is at a lower risk of photocarcinogenesis than fair skin.5

A form of DNA damage, they are chemical reactions that are produced by the action of light. They are formed mainly from UV light omitted by the sun or by artificial means such as a Solarium. Photoproducts can account for one quarter of all DNA damage.

1. Fisher. G., et al., (1997). "Pathophysiology of Premature Skin Aging Induced by Ultraviolet Light." The New England Journal of Medicine 337(20): 1419-1429.

2. Katiyar. S., et al., (1999). "Polyphenolic antioxidant (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate from green tea reduces UVB-induced inflammatory responses and infiltration of leukocytes in human skin." Photochemistry and Photobiology 69(2): 148-53.

3. Afaq. F., et al., (2002). "Botanical antioxidants for chemoprevention of photocarcinogenesis." Frontiers in Bioscience 1(7): d784-92.

4. F'guyer. S., et al., (2003). "Photochemoprevention of skin cancer by botanical agents." Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine 19(2): 56-72.

5. Gilchrest. B., et al., (1999). "DNA photodamage stimulates melanogenesis and other photoprotective responses." The Journal of Investigative Dermatology 4(1): 35-4029

6. Ohno. M., et al., (2006). "A genome-wide distribution of 8-oxoguanine correlates with the preferred regions for recombination and single nucleotide polymorphism in the human genome." Genome Research 16(5): 567-575.